Dr. BT's Blog

Sugar is not good for a healthy diet. But many "sugar-free" foods with sweeteners should not be consumed either.

Foods that contain sugar alcohols can be labeled sugar-free because they replace full calorie sugar sweeteners. Sugar and sugar alcohols are each considered nutritive sweeteners because they provide calories when consumed. Sugar alcohols, or polyols, contain fewer calories than sugar. Sugar provides 4 kcal/gram and sugar alcohols provide an average of 2 kcal/gram (range from 1.5 kcal/gram to 3 kcal/gram).

The bottom line is that even at a half of the calories, sweeteners retain the same property of sugar, i.e., empty calories and high glycemic index.

There's an added problem: A recent research conducted at UCSD "Artificial Sweeteners Confound the Brain; May Lead to Diet Disaster", showed that Splenda is not satisfying—at least according to the brain. A new study found that even when the palate cannot distinguish between the artificial sweetener and sugar, our brain knows the difference.

If that theory plays out, there could be implications for those who use artificial sweeteners as a weight-control aid. Recent research indeed suggests a correlation between artificial sweetener intake and compromised health. In one large survey, diet soda consumption was found to be associated with elevated cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk. A different study reveals a possible mechanism behind this effect: rats that were fed artificially sweetened yogurt in addition to their regular feed ended up eating more and gaining more weight than rats that ate yogurt with real sugar. The study’s authors suggest that exposure to an artificial sweetener may undermine the brain’s ability to track calories and to determine when to stop eating.

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